Beaker and closure therefor

ABSTRACT

A container for semi-solid commodities having at least one flat side portion while the lid of the container has at least a flat mating portion. The lid may have a tongue or continutaion which covers part of the flat portion and may be fastened to the flat side. Several containers as described above may be linked together by stems extending from the edges of the rectilinear portion of the upper rim of the container. The upper rim of the container may have a wave-like rather than a circular shape.

United States Patent 11 1 Lohwasser BEAKER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR [76] Inventor: Kurt Lohwasser, Milchstrasse 22, D 00 m 2 irw2 [22] Filed: June 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No.1 151,852

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 21, 1970 Germany P 20 32 675.4

[52] US. Cl. 220/31 S, 229/44 R [51] Int. Cl B6511 43/16 [58] Field of Search 220/31 R, 31 S, DIG. 13;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,387,392 10/ 1945 Guyer et a1. 229/44 R X 3,417,861 12/1968 Levy 229/44 R X 963,703 7/1910 Evans 220/31 R 1,609,321 12/ 1926 Sonn 206/8 3,063,549 11/1962 Weichselbaum 220/31 S X Nov. 27, 1973 3,315,718 4/1967 Berman 220/31 S X 3,382,969 5/1968 3,390,804 7/1968 3,417,897 12/1968 Johnson 220/31 S X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 261,248 11/1928 Italy 229/44 R Primary Examiner-I-Ierbert F. Ross Assistant Examiner-James R. Garrett AttorneyCushman, Darby & Cushman [57] ABSTRACT A container for semi-solid commodities having at least one flat side portion while the lid of the container has at least a flat mating portion. The lid may have a tongue or continutaion which covers part of the flat portion and may be fastened to the flat side. Several containers as described above may be linked together by stems extending from the edges of the rectilinear portion of the upper rim of the container. The upper rim of the container may have a wave-like rather than a circular shape.

3 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures Patented Nov. 21,1913 3.714300 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: X097- La la/45x52 Patented Nov. 27, 1973 3.774,800

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 lNVEN-TURZ ft. 027- LQA'W/YSSER Patented Nov. 27, '1973 3,774,800

4 Sha ats-Sheet 4 INVENTOR: KURT L 0H W/LSSEA 1 BEAKER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR The present invention refers to a cylindrical or conical-shaped beaker, more particularly to a plastics beaker for yoghurt with a tightly-fitting lid.

It is well-known that foods, such as yoghurt, curds, cream, jam or other liquid, semi-solid or solid commodities are packed in small beakers with, for instance, a capacity of from 50 to 500 millilitres or more. These beakers are as a rule made of paper or plastics-coated paper or plastics, more particularly polythene, polystyrol or PVC by a well-known method, for instance by deepdrawing or forming. For better storage or stacking capacity these beakers are mostly formed slightly conically; they can have a plain or a more or less raised base area. Generally, these beakers are shut tight with a circular lid, where the lid is welded onto, stuck onto, grooved onto, clamped onto or clamped into the rim of the beaker. The material of the lid can be the same as that of the beaker; in many cases lids coated with plastics or aluminium foil, or lacquer-coated aluminium foils are used. v

A disadvantage of these beakers consists in that the round side areas are poor for printing, so that, as a rule, markings and information as to content are printed exclusively on the lid itself. The difficulties in the printing of a round side area are due sometimes to the round shape, which can only be printed by a simple offsetprinting process or with the flexo-printing process, and sometimes to the quality of the surface of the plastics material, which does not accept printing colours as well as does, for instance, the paperor aluminium foil of the lid, which can, besides, be printed in larger sheets or cut as a plane and also allows printing by four-colour screenprinting or by a four-colour offset-or copper plate printing, so that considerably better results can be achieved by printing the lid. Since, however, in a filled condition, these beakers are sold stacked one on top of the other, a sign on-the lid is not immediately visible to the buyer. For this reason, it had for a longtime been the case to provide the side of the beaker with a print of insufficiently good quality, while the lid areas, less effective in advertizing and hidden, could be highquality printed.

The present invention has now set itself the task of proposing a beaker which is easier and simpler to print and in which, for preferance, only one printing process is required to mark both lid and side surfaces. Furthermore, it is the task of the present invention to propose a new design of beaker in order to arrange the beakers so they are more space-saving and particularly better in multiple packages.

As a solution to the above task, therefore, cylindrical or conical-shaped beaker, more particularly a plastics beaker for yoghurt with a tightly-fitting lid is suggested. This is characterized in that at least a part of the cylindrical side is formed as a flat side-area which joins onto a rectilinear area of theupper beaker rim and that the lid has a tongue somewhat dimensionally corresponding to the flat side-area. By a side-design of this kind in one case a flat side-area beaker is obtained which can better be printed upon that an all-round circular cylindrical side; and in another case the tongue dimensionallycorresponding to the flat side area, which either lies freely on the flat side area or is fastened to this partly or completely, together with the lid can be provided with a high-quality printing in just a one print operation to mark the lid area as well as the flat portion of the cylindrical side.

Cylindrical containers with a flat side-wall are indeed well-known, for instance from US. Pat. Specification No. 2,389,781. These, however, serve quite different purposes and as far as the task set here is concerned, namely better printability, have nothing to do with the object of the present invention and, more particularly, possess no tightly-closing lids forming a surface printable in one with the flat side-areas. Compared with the well-known, mostly deepdrawn, cylindrical plastics containers with flat side areas, it is surprising that one obtains, according'to the invention, both a high-quality printing of the side area and also a common printing of the lid and side areas, where, furthermore the basic advantage appears in that one now needs an unlimited, uniform stock of only one kind of beaker, which then,

. when required according to the various goods stocked is not marked by attaching lid and side-tongue until after filling.

By a variant of the beaker according to the invention, the lid can be produced perhaps in a lengthening of the flat side area joined in one piece with the latter, so that the hinge of the lid lies in the rectilinear area of the upper beaker rim. An advantageous beaker of this sort is characterized in that the lid in the rectilinear area of the upper beaker rim has a small joining groove.

Moreover, it is of advantage if, with the beaker according to the invention, the tongue of the lid is attached at least partially in the area of the Hat side area, particularly by spot-welding or spot-adhesion onto this latter. This allows, if need arise, a better tearing open of the lid, particularly when a tab for tearing it open is provided on the underside of the tongue.

The stacking capacity of the beaker is not affected by the new formation of the beaker according to the invention, since the lid when folded open fits well against the flat side area of the beaker inserted nearest to it, so that with a large stacking, all the opened lids of the beakers lie almost like scales on one another. These kinds of beakers are especially suitable for vacuum packing, since the filled beakers can be closed after vacuum processing before leaving the vacuum chamber by depressing the lid, whereby the insertedor clamped-in lid is held inplace by the vacuum in the beaker. The flat surface area available before filling, namely lid and flat side area, can be printed without difiiculty.

Further, according to the invention, several beakers can be linked against or underneath one another, on top of linking stems at the end area or as an extension of the rectilinear area of the upper rim of the beaker under one another. Either several beakers can thereby be arranged in a row or else several beakers can be fastened together around a star-shaped linking-stem.

Of course, it is also possible to provide beakers according to the invention having two or more flat sideareas. In this case the upper rim of the beaker has, correspondingly two or more rectilinear areas. By a corresponding development of the cross-section, for instance, in the form of a triangle with rounded corners, further space-saving arrangements of beakers are possible. Beakers where several flat side areas are provided can also have correspondingly more label-type tongues connected with the lid.

' The invention should be further illustrated by means of drawings as follows; these show:

FIG. I a perspective view of a beaker with lid according to the invention;

FIG. 2 a perspective view of a beaker according to the invention, in which the lid has a downward-hanging tongue-shaped label; 7

FIG. 3 a plan view onto a beaker without a lid;

FIG. 4 a plan view onto a modified shape of a beaker according to the invention; 7

FIG. 3a a plan view onto a lid with a tongue, for a beaker according to FIG. 3;

FIG. 4a a plan view onto a label with a lid, for a beaker according to FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 a partial view of the lower part of a beaker according to the invention with a label-shaped tongue and tear-off tab;

FIG. 6 a perspective view of a multiple-package of three beakers;

FIG. 7 a plan view onto a further arrangement of a multiple package;

FIG. 8 a perspective view of a further multiple package of beakers according to the invention;

FIG. 9 a further development-shape of the beaker according to the invention with a lid leading in one piece onto the flat side-area; and

FIG. 10 a further developmentalshape of the beaker according to the invention with a new stacking layer.

Beaker 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a wall which runs slightly conically down to the base 3, where a part is formed as a flat side-area 2, which goes from a rectilinear area of the upper rim of the beaker and proceeds to the base. Of course, the flat side area can also be so formed that it does not reach quite to the base 3, so that the latter can then be made round again, if need be.

The beaker 1 shown in FIG. 2 with base 3 differs from the beaker according to FIG. 1 only in that the base area 3 is raised by a ring 4 running all round, so that a ring-shaped stand is obtained. The flat side area is covered with tongue 2, which forms one piece with the lid and together with the latter has been manufactured or printed in one operation.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show in plan view two differing shapes of beaker which difi'er in that the side of the beaker connected with the rectilinear area of the upper rim of the beaker in the beaker according to FIG. 4 goes directly into a curve; whilst in a beaker according to FIG. 3 the rectilinear edging is continued even further, and the curved part almost squarely to the straight edge of the rim of the lid. In FIG. 3a and FIG. 4a are drawn the lids and labels to be used for beakers 3 and 4. These consist of the actual lid piece 5 or S' and tongue 6 or I in line.

Other possibilities for combinations for multiple packages are shown in FIG. 7. Here, four containers, la, lb, 10 and 1d are joined together on a stem 9.

The formation of a multiple package shown in FIG. 8 consists of beakers with an almost triangular profile and rounded corners; beakers la to 1e are likewie connected together on a star-shaped central stem 10 to form a sales unit wherein lids 2a to 2e have a tongue on the outside area only now and again.

Beaker 1 shown in FIG. 9 has a lid 5 die-cast out of one piece which is joined onto a groove-joint 12 with side area 6; the flat areas, namely lid 5 and side area 6 are printed. In the lower area, the beaker again has an almost ring-shaped stand area 11.

Beaker 20 shown in FIG. 10 has a circular collar 22, serving as a stacking support displaced from the outside, which is formed in a wave or bow shape. Through this, contrary to the well-known, symmetrically circling, unwaved collar areas, it is achieved that the customer does not get the impression that with this shoulder it is a question of a filling mark; for all that, an equally good and, with the present beakers with a straight rim area, even a better stacking capacity and a swift separation'of the beaker in filling machines is attained. The last is particularly good if low marks 24, 26, 28 of the wave-shaped collar are marked out respectively on both sides of the flat side area 30 and opposite this, so that a three-point storing is obtained.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a beaker for containing a flowable substance, such as yoghurt or the like, said beaker having a side wall, a portion of which has a curvilinear shaped cross-section and the remaining portion of which is planar, a rim portion having a linear portion corresponding to the top edge of said planar side wall portion and disposed in substantially co-extensive abutting relation thereto; and

a lid for said beaker constructed of a single planar piece of material capable of bearing printing thereon and having a main body with a planar center and a peripheral edge which conforms to said rim and is removably adhered thereto, said lid also having a tongue-like extension containing printing thereon so that said extension serves as a label, said extension extending down the exterior face of said planar side wall portion, substantially coextensive therewith and adhered thereto, said lid being hinged to said extension at said rim in contacting superposition to said linear portion of said rim.

2. A beaker according to claim 1, wherein the lid has a linear groove overlying the linear portion of the rim of the beaker.

3. A beaker according to claim 1 wherein a pull-tab is provided on the distal end of said extension for removing sarne from said adhered relation to said planar side wall portion. 

1. In combination, a beaker for containing a flowable substance, such as yoghurt or the like, said beaker having a side wall, a portion of which has a curvilinear shaped cross-section and the remaining portion of which is planar, a rim portion having a linear portion corresponding to the top edge of said planar side wall portion and disposed in substantially co-extensive abutting relation thereto; and a lid for said beaker constructed of a single planar piece of material capable of bearing printing thereon and having a main body with a planar center and a peripheral edge which conforms to said rim and is removably adhered thereto, said lid also having a tongue-like extension containing printing thereon so that said extension serves as a label, said extension extending down the exterior face of said planar side wall portion, substantially coextensive therewith and adhered thereto, said lid being hinged to said extension at said rim in contacting superposition to said linear portion of said rim.
 2. A beaker according to claim 1, wherein the lid has a linear groove overlying the linear portion of the rim of the beaker.
 3. A beaker according to claim 1 wherein a pull-tab is provided on the distal end of said extension for removing same from said adhered relation to said planar side wall portion. 